November 2, 2006 Issue                                       

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©2006 The Chestnut Hill Local

Board asks Fund to sell “the building,” settles on a bylaws committee
By PETE MAZZACCARO

The Germantown Avenue house at 8431 Germantown Ave. has been a source of some controversy since it was purchased 10 years ago by the Chestnut Hill Community Fund, the non-profit, 501c3 arm of the Chestnut Hill Community Association.

Often referred to in CHCA meetings and in letters to the Local as “The Building,” the house has been a keen center of debate between those who defended the buildings purchase and others who felt the CHCF and the CHCA had no business being in the real estate business.

Last Thursday, the board of directors moved to ask the Fund’s trustees to sell 8431 Germantown Ave.

The decision by the board came after a discussion on whether or not the community association actually needed to use the space or not and a report by interim community manager Ed Budnick that shows the Fund would experience a positive cash flow gain of approximately $43,000.

Board member Jane Becker, who was on the board in 1996 when the building was purchased said the association had considered using the building for community meetings, Teenagers Inc. and the Chestnut Hill Senior Center, but costs of converting the three-story home to institutional use proved to be more than the Fund or Association was willing to spend. “We thought we could use it but nothing ever materialized,” she said.

Others on the board who were involved in the decision to purchase agreed that the idea of using the building had languished and that the board’s best bet was to move on and instruct the Fund to sell the property

Thought the entire board agreed to sell the building, there was not a clear consensus on how to proceed. Several board members wanted to consider controls that would prohibit a future owner from altering the building’s physical character. Others wanted to be sure that the building was sold in a transparent manner, advertising the building and selling on the open market.

CHCA president Ron Recko informed the board that board member Lisa Sullivan-Mancuso was interested in the building and had already tendered an offer in the vicinity of $700,000. Sullivan-Mancuso said she was interested in preserving the building, using perhaps using it as a residence or for offices.

The final motion that passed was made by board member Tom Flemming and stated 1) that the CHCA had determined it had no use for the building, 2) that the CHCA would like to sell the property and that 3) it would like to discuss the final sale with the Fund trustees before a sale is executed.

Bylaws Committee established

After considerable confusion and disagreement, a committee composed of board members Anne Spaeth, Janine Dwyer and Dina Hitchcock proposed a method to plug gaps in the membership of the CHCA’s bylaws committee.

The board was given a ballot with a group of names proposed by the committee of three to fill out four open slots on the bylaws committee. Board members were asked to select up to four people on the list, the two to receive the most votes would get five year terms beginning in 2006 and the next two would fill out five-year terms that began in 2004.

Janine Dwyer and Kathie Jones received the most votes earning them new five-year appointments. Chris Padova and Howard Lesnick were selected to fill the 2004 slots and will serve until 2009.

The bylaws committee is composed of 10 people who review the CHCA’s bylaws and any proposed bylaw changes. Normally, two people rotate off the committee when their terms are up and two more are appointed by the president to begin five-year terms.

Other business

• Recko expressed disappointment in what he said was lack in giving from the CHCA board.

“If you want to fund the programs that this organization has in the past, you have to give some money,” Recko said. “I am going to call you. I’m not going to ask others for money until this board raises $10,000.”

Others agreed that board members should give. Board member Marie Lachat asked that solicitation cards be sent out and that it was important to acknowledge donations.

• Bob Previdi, executive director of the Chestnut Hill District and the Chestnut Hill Business Association told the board that he was involved in ongoing meetings concerning a Pennsylvania Department of Transportation plan to renovate a large stretch of Germantown Avenue from Allen’s Lane to Winston Road. Previdi said he is trying to get assurances that Penn-DOT will fund the replacement of Belgian block on the portion of Winston Road that meets Germantown Avenue, an area where the blocks frequently come loose. A public meeting will take place in late November.

• Susan Pizzano, CHCA Vice President of the Physical Division, reported that she had met with chairs of the Design Review Committee and the Land Use Planning and Zoning Committee to request a new set of meeting standards for homeowners that would let them go through the CHCA’s zoning process without the same scrutiny placed on commercial applicants. She said the chairs did not agree to change the procedure for homeowners.